Whispers of the Past
by bulletproofpencil
Summary: Jaune disappeared during Ruby's crusade against Salem. Now that he's resurfaced as a huntsman, she'll do anything to find him. Will the disgraced leader answer the call to adventure once again?
1. Jaune

'250 lien,' he thought as he sighed at the sight of the dismal numbers that was his bank account displayed on the screen of his scroll. Lifting his coffee mug to his lips, downing the remainder of his spiked drink, then cringing at the burn as it slithered down his throat, he thought out loud, "I guess I should do another job. The alcohol isn't going to pay for itself and rent is due this week."

Gathering his belongings and putting on a pair of aviators to shield his hungover eyes from the bright morning, he gently placed the cup in the kitchen sink before departing his lonely apartment for the CCT mission boards. Jaune pulled his hood over his forehead as he walked down the dilapidated steps on the side of the concrete building before turning in the direction of Beacon academy. He gnawed on his greasy breakfast burrito as he walked, checking his playlist before inserting his earbuds just as the chaos of the synth beats picked up and necessarily drowned out his thoughts.

3… 2… 1… The huntsman took slight amusement in counting down the seconds to when the data updated. He looked through his reflective sunglasses up at the partially overcast sky to make a mental note and prediction of the weather. As he flipped through the high-risk listings, lost in thought, a familiar hint of red entered his peripheral vision. Ignoring the bright red hood, he settled on a moderately paying, two-person, 1-day mission and simply walked away. Red was a popular color, it couldn't be her.

Turning the corner, Jaune felt a slight breeze at his back before a hand grab his shoulder and pulled him around, causing his hand to fall to his absent sword. To his unfortunate surprise, he found a familiar face followed by a trail of rose petals. He watched her mouth move inaudibly to him for a few seconds before holding his hand up to indicate a pause, so he could remove his earbuds.

"Jaune!" her still high-pitched voice rang louder than usual, "I knew I recognized you. Well, the Pumpkin Pete hoodie was a dead giveaway."

"Not so loud, I had a rough night," Jaune rubbed his temples.

"Oh, sorry," Ruby replied, self-consciously bringing her hand to her mouth, "hungover?"

"Yeah," Jaune looked down at his scroll to pause his music.

"So, what have you been up to?" Ruby asked as the pair continued down the direction Jaune was headed, "I haven't seen you at all since we defeated Salem."

"How keen of you to notice," Jaune stared straight ahead, hiding behind his aviators, "much of the same thing. Take a job, finish the mission, get home and drink until I run out of money for food and alcohol. Repeat."

"Ah, so exactly what Uncle Qrow used to do," Ruby's gaze fell to the ground before quickly forcing herself to perk up, "well, I've been doing a lot of huntress work as well. A lot of people come to me personally ever since word got out that I killed Salem."

Jaune let an awkward pause pass before turning to the young woman, "Did I ask?"

"Mmm, no but it's been so long since I've seen you," Ruby replied, "I thought I shouldn't miss the chance to catch up."

"Well, we're caught up now," Jaune answered coldly while reinserting his earbuds, "bye."

"Jaune wait!" Ruby called out, ripping the earbuds out.

"What the fuck do you want?" Jaune snarled as he turned to meet her eyes.

"What happened to you?" Ruby asked, "You disappear for six years and you're not my best guy friend anymore? You didn't even come back to Beacon for your final year."

"I was done with it all," Jaune averted his eyes, "I was done with being left behind. You weren't there for me when I needed it the most and when you didn't show up at Vacuo, I was done with you especially."

"We did get to Vacuo," Ruby argued, "and everything was destroyed."

"That's because I watched it fall," Jaune's voice grew dark, "I helped protect the city, I guarded the winter maiden until her gruesome end, I did everything in my power to prevent it all from happening _alone_."

"Jaune, believe me, if you lasted a bit longer we could've made it there with backup," Ruby did her best to cover up her shame.

"I waited for months, Ruby, _months!_ " Jaune continued as Ruby stared at the ground in front of her feet, "It's not like I didn't ask either, I sent multiple messages your way, even had Qrow personally deliver a message to you so don't you dare give me that grimm shit. When it was all said and done, you didn't care, you didn't even so much as mention my name."

"I thought I lost you," Ruby started off softly, getting louder with each word, "I didn't want you to leave, but you insisted. I came running as fast as I could as soon as Uncle Qrow said you were in trouble, but when I got there, I was way too late. I spent a week looking for your body, any sign if you were alive or dead just so I could get some closure, but nothing. As soon as I saw your name registered on the mission boards a month after we took down Salem, I knew I had to find you."

"Well, here I am, you found me," Jaune mocked, throwing his arms up dramatically, "so what on fucking Remnant do you want?"

"You know, it's funny. I spent six years rehearsing what I was going to say to you once I found you," Ruby hid behind her smile, holding up her scroll, "I guess we're teammates for this mission."

Jaune's jaw dropped in disbelief, "You mean to tell me that you wasted _my_ time and energy, dug up shit that I _never_ want to remember, just for this?"

"Mmhmm," Ruby nodded with a smile on her face, bracing herself for another round of verbal abuse.

"Whatever, just don't bother me until the mission," Jaune sighed at the woman's insanity before turning to leave, "oh, and after this mission, we part ways and never speak again, you understand?"

"Wait, Jaune," Ruby caught Jaune's sleeve, "can I please stay at your place? I've been kinda homeless for the last six years."

"What the fuck?" Jaune simply said, pinching the bridge of his nose

* * *

 **Author's Note: It's been a long ass while since I've written an AU fic, let alone a future AU fic. I had the idea for this a few months ago while I was arguing with my roommate about whether or not Jaune's going to make it until the end of the series. I was thinking that he's probably going to die, but my roomie argued plot armor. Anyway, that still doesn't explain the reason for this fic... I guess I'll chalk it up to "my brain made dis." Pls review and send ideas my way, I have writer's block.**


	2. Ruby

**Author's note: While I was writing what was supposed to be chapter two, I realized that this wasn't just a story centered around Jaune. So instead of scrapping everything, I decided to take a little more time with the setup since I left a few questions unanswered in the last chapter. Anyway, I have to run off to class now. Oh, and one more thing before I leave, if you're gonna call my writing shit without a suggestion on how to improve, you're just being an asshole.**

* * *

"Give up kid, he's dead," Qrow sighed as he pulled out his flask, "look around, there's nothing left."

"I won't believe that until you give me proof!" Ruby screamed as she fruitlessly dug through the rubble, her fingers raw, "Make yourself useful and actually look."

"Ruby," Ren started.

"I don't wanna hear it!" Ruby cut off Ren as she continued to dig.

"Uncle Qrow's right," Yang pleaded, "You've been at this for a week. We need to move soon, we're sitting ducks out here and we're running out of supplies."

Ruby finally turned, her face contorted in anger, "I am _not_ about to let another friend, my best friend, down again."

"This was all we could find," Nora meekly said as she stepped forward, a battered and bloody Crocea Mors in hand, "Yang's probably right, we need to move on."

"How can you say that?" Ruby fell to her knees defeated, fidgeting with the green bracelet that clung to her right wrist, "This isn't how it's supposed to go."

"It's not your fault, the information was faulty," Blake spoke up, "With global communication down, there's no way we could have gotten reliable intel. Weiss, wait!"

A loud slap rang through the air as the heiress stood square in front of the young huntress in training, tears splattering on the ground next to them, "We've all lost someone Ruby, and that's why we're all here. If we don't stop Salem, we'll lose everyone we care about. Pyrrha, my mother, Blake's parents, and now Jaune. Everyone we've lost in this battle, we do this for them."

As soon as Ruby got on her feet with Weiss' help, the heiress embraced the grieving girl to comfort her. Ruby whispered with a raspy voice through her sniffles, "I didn't get the chance."

"Don't miss the next chance you get," Weiss said as she rubbed her leader's back.

.

.

.

Ruby sat in her dad's recliner, a mug of tea nestled between her hands that rested in her lap, staring blankly ahead, her silver eyes devoid of emotion. The warm breeze of summer swept through the house as the front door violently swung open. Yang leaned against the door frame gasping for breath as the words spilled from her mouth, "Have you checked the mission boards at all recently?"

"Nope," Ruby lazily let out as she sipped on her now cold tea.

"You need to see this," Yang approached her younger sister, scroll held up, "I was checking out the CCT message boards earlier and I found this registered to a high-risk mission. This was a week ago."

As the image registered in her mind, Ruby's eyes widened, choking on her tea as she attempted to gasp. Spitting out the contents of her mouth (and lungs), Ruby coughed out, "That's impossible, Jaune died at Vacuo."

"We didn't find his body, and Weiss said they didn't find any other sign of him when the SDC cleared the rubble for rebuilding," Yang explained.

"If he's alive, then why hasn't he contacted any of us?" Ruby asked, wiping away the leftover trails of liquid from her face.

"It has to be him," Yang encouraged, "There's no way anyone can fake that. You need an authentic license to register your name for a mission. Ruby, Jaune's alive."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Ruby replied, setting her mug down, "besides, I've moved on. I've accepted that he's gone and never coming back."

"I guess you'll have to find him and ask him yourself," Yang smirked while shrugging echoing the message of Weiss' words just months earlier, "or are you going to miss your chance again?"

Ruby paused to contemplate for a few minutes, a smile creeping up on her face as the call to adventure returned to her. She sprang up in a blur of red, a trail of rose petals leading up the stairs, her voice now coming from her room, "Tell dad I might be gone for a while."

"Before you leave, you might want to bring this with you," Yang pulled a small laminated card from her pocket, "You might want to hurry, the last airship to Vale leaves in an hour. Also, I'd start in Mistral, since this job listing is your only lead for now."

Throwing on a new outfit, Ruby haphazardly threw the bare essentials into her backpack. Grabbing the fresh Huntress License out of Yang's prosthetic limb, she dashed out the door slamming the entrance closed behind her. Ruby savored the wind in her face once again, reinvigorated by her new quest, she was ready to face another day.

.

.

.

Ruby awoke from her dream, a bittersweet smile across her face. She peeled her face away from her backpack she had used as a makeshift pillow and rose off the concrete ground. Pulling out her scroll, she pulled up an image of her latest lead revealing a hooded figure with douchey sunglasses on. She zoomed in on the bunny face on his chest and smiled as her heart fluttered in excitement, "It's gotta be him."

Poking her head out of the alley she slept in, Ruby felt relieved to see the streets still empty and the sky still barely lit from the morning to come. She looked down at her scroll once more to check the time.

'6:30 am,' Ruby made a mental note as she stuck her hand into her backpack to exchange her scroll for a pack of field rations. She scowled as soon as the lump of nutrients touched her taste buds, 'Bleh, you'd think I'd get used to it after six years of eating this crap on and off.'

Ruby walked a few blocks down before waltzing into a nearby motel, greeting the owner at the front desk, "Hey, Torchwick, got any new info today? By the way, I'm using one of the empty rooms to shower."

"Morning, Red," the former criminal greeted back, sliding a key card across the counter, "as for your bunny man, I haven't heard much about him other than as of late he's been spotted at the message boards right as the data updates, then disappears quickly."

"What about his weapons? Have you spoken to any of his clients or any of his temporary teammates?" Ruby listened intently as she pocketed the card.

"Well, from what I've heard, he doesn't take too kindly to working with other people," Roman answered in a hushed voice, "the man's like a ghost, he only takes high-risk solo missions and his clients have never even seen his face. It's always a different person who picks up the salary. As for the weapons, like I said, no one to witness him fight means no one knows what he uses, but he always finishes the job in a day."

"It's not much, but it's enough to go off of from here," Ruby thought to herself while fishing through her backpack. After pulling out an envelope full lien cards, she set it on the counter, "This is all I have but it should cover the fee for the intel plus the shower."

"A pleasure doing business," Roman greedily smiled, to Ruby's disgust, as he picked up the envelope before stuffing it into his overcoat, "I hope you find your boyfriend."

"He's just a friend," Ruby repeated for what seemed to be the millionth time before walking off to the motel room number on the key card, pulling her hood up to cover her face.

"From my experience, people don't look for a person for _six_ years unless they either want that person dead or they're looking for a long-lost love," Roman called after her, "so, which is it, Red?"

"None of your beeswax, Torchwick," Ruby's voice came from down the hall followed by a door slamming shut.

Ruby went straight to the bathroom of the surprisingly clean motel room, turning the knob for hot water before going to set her bag on the bed. After propping up a chair under the doorknob, Ruby then fished out her toiletries before stripping down and hopping into the shower. Upon feeling the hot streams on her back, the stress and tension seemed to melt away as she scrubbed the filth off her body.

After toweling off and putting her combat outfit back on, she checked her scroll for new messages before checking the time, '8:30, shit, shit, shit, I'm gonna miss him.'

Quickly gathering her belongings and knocking the chair aside, Ruby dashed out the door, flinging the card at Roman, barely missing his face and embedding it into the wall behind him. Calmly turning to pull the card out, he thought out loud to himself, "I did say that they were getting weirder and weirder every year, but I knew this kid was crazy since the day I tried mugging her."

Ruby made her way towards Beacon as fast as she could, the signature rose petals her semblance created scattering in her wake. As the CCT came into view, she looked down at her scroll once more to check for the time before seeing a lone black hood in the distance, her boots skid against the pavement as she slowed to a stop. Taking a few deep breaths to slow her heart rate, she approached the terminal next to the hooded figure.

'Just stay calm, Ruby. He's still your best guy friend, even though it's been six years since you last saw him,' Ruby thought to herself, focusing on her peripheral vision while she pretended to flip through the mission listings.

'Yup, that's definitely him. Does he recognize me? I hope he recognizes me,' Ruby turned her head to face her neighbor, her hand raised in hesitation, 'Wait, is that him? I can't tell with those douchey sunglasses in the way, and I don't think Jaune grew facial hair the last time I saw him.'

As Ruby stood there debating with herself, the man turned in the direction opposite to her to walk away. Pulling her hand back, she stared blankly at his back as he walked away. Looking at the terminal her eyes widened at the sight of the name registered, 'Dammit, I missed my chance again. Hold on, there's still room on this mission.'

Still keeping her eyes on the hooded figure, Ruby quickly pulled out her huntress license and scroll. Holding both up to the terminal, she waited impatiently for her name to register for the mission. As soon as the confirmation message splashed across the terminal screen, she dashed after him as he turned the corner.

"Jaune, wait!" Ruby called after him.


	3. Catching Up, Sorta

**Author's Note: Ever get the feeling like you're accidentally copying something you read a long time ago? I've been feeling deja vu this entire week, even while I was writing, it felt like I've read this somewhere before. I guess it comes with the life of a student, you do the same shit everyday, and it feels like you're living through Groundhog Day.**

* * *

"It's not much, but it'll have to do, until I can get you out of my hair," Jaune said as he opened the front door to the apartment, leaving his guest at the entrance for his liquor cabinet, "Since it's a studio, you can take the couch. Not like the bed is any better. Bathroom's right there, do you want anything to drink?"

Ruby collapsed onto the low three-seater, stretching her sore limbs, "I guess I'll just have whatever you're having."

"You asked for this," Jaune shrugged, filling two mugs halfway with whiskey then filling the rest with cold black coffee. Sauntering over to the couch, he set one mug onto the coffee table and proceeded to take big gulps from his own mug.

"No creamer?" Ruby stared at the suspiciously dark liquid before taking a sip, "Ugh, dude, isn't it too early for alcohol?"

"It's never too early to drink," Jaune said with a grunt.

"You know, sixteen-year-old me would have found this hot," Ruby scowled as the drink burned its way down her esophagus, but continued to sip, "but this is just sad. Is this what you do all day?"

"If I'm not on a mission," Jaune quickly retorted, then finished off his drink, "the caffeine just gives it that oomph, y'know?"

"So, you've been taking jobs as a huntsman since Vacuo fell?" Ruby asked.

"Mmhmm," Jaune simply responded, pouring himself another, emptying the percolator's remaining contents into his cup.

"How's that going for you?" Ruby continued to prod, "You got any stories from missions you've been on?"

"Well, there's this one time I took a mission to clear out sector three in Forever Fall," Jaune started, feigning a smile, "I survived, came home and drank."

Ruby pouted in disappointment, "That's it? You've gotta have more stories."

"Well, there was one mission I took in the wastelands of Vacuo to stop a Goliath's advance towards a village," Jaune started his story once more.

"Oooh, how did that go?" Ruby set her mug down and leaned forward in anticipation for the epic she was about to hear.

"I killed it, went home bloody, then drank," Jaune unapologetically continued to drink as he walked back to the couch.

"God dammit, Jaune," Ruby rolled her eyes, "where's the excitement, the suspense, the adventure?"

"What's there to tell?" Jaune took a seat next to Ruby, "It's more or less the same every time. I don't talk to anyone, I just do my job, get paid and get home as fast as I can."

"You make being a huntsman sound some any old boring job," Ruby replied, "and drinking and eating can't be the only thing you do in your down time."

"It's what makes the hangovers go away," Jaune shrugged, setting down the mug.

"What about that scar? It looks like a brand," Ruby asked, pointing to the burn mark that encircled his left forearm, "what's the story behind that?"

"I was kidnapped by a group of cultists that worshipped Salem. They managed to brand me before I killed them all and burned their bodies," Jaune lied, unwilling to admit that he dropped one of his weapons on himself while forging it. Ruby responded by nodding, already anticipating his answer if she asked any further.

"You're not going to ask how I've been doing?" Ruby fidgeted nervously with the edges of her combat skirt.

"Nope," Jaune popped his lips as he turned on the TV, flipping mindlessly through the channels.

"I just told you I spent six years looking for you, you're not even remotely interested in any of that?" Ruby coaxed.

'Hmm, remote,' Jaune turned his head lazily, resting it on his shoulder, in Ruby's direction. After staring blankly for a few seconds, he looked down at the remote before getting up and recollecting his aviators and scroll. He tossed the remote into Ruby's lap on his way to the front door, "I didn't ask, so I don't care. I'm going out to mug some random grandmas, console and games are in the cabinet thingy under the TV if you get bored of flipping through channels. Other than that, don't touch my stuff."

Ruby sat in disbelief for a few moments after hearing the deadbolt slide into place before getting up to look through his game collection as she ranted to herself, "Seriously? I spend all this time looking for him and he's not even happy to see his best friend? At least he's got some decent games, not that I would know since I put my life on hold to look for the bastard."

Ruby sat for a couple hours playing game after game, quickly becoming disinterested with each one she played. Tossing the controller onto the couch behind her, she got up to investigate the rest of the apartment.

'If I were Jaune, where would I hide my weapon stash,' Ruby thought to herself, eyeing the closet closest to the bed, 'bingo.'

She cautiously opened the door to reveal a neat and organized wardrobe. His shirts meticulously organized by color, separated on one side from his jackets and pants, it was even complete with hanging cubby holes for his socks and undergarments. As she turned away in disappointment a glint of reflected light caught the corner of her eye from the back of the closet, 'Oooh, this seems promising.'

Pushing the articles of clothing aside, she found the scabbard of Crocea Mors hanging upon the wall next to the battered remains of Jaune's breastplate among an array of weapons. Ruby slid her hands across the collapsible shield, taking note of the various tally marks that riddled the surface. Picking up the scabbard, she attempted to open the shield up but only a simple click came from the half-weapon as it stayed closed. Disappointed, she put the item back onto its mount before turning her attention back onto the piece of armor. Ruby thought back the day Jaune had acquired it, remembering the look of hope of a better future that glittered in his eyes. Just as she did with the scabbard, she ran her fingers across the surface, accidentally cutting a finger on one of the bullet holes in the armor's side.

'I need to stop touching everything nostalgically,' Ruby inwardly scolded herself, putting her finger in her mouth. Closing the closet door with her free hand, she walked back to the couch to dig into her backpack for a bandage.

Ruby sat back down in front of the TV, picking the controller back up, she continued playing the cartoonish looking shooter game. Contrary to her fighting style, she played passive aggressively, her eyes drifting to the closet door not noticing her squid-person avatar flopping around on the unpainted ground. Unable to sate her curiosity towards the other weapons, Ruby got back up, 'Since I've already broken rule number one, I'm sure Jaune wouldn't mind, as long as I put it back and don't tell him.'

Opening up the closet once again and pushing the clothes aside, Ruby chose a weapon at random, closing her fingers around the handle of a rather large looking dagger. Examining the blade closely, she poked, prodded and pulled carefully at different parts hoping something would react. Poking at a spot just between the back of the blade and hilt, sound of locking mechanisms disengaging could be heard as the blade tilted forwards. The serrations on the back of the blade slid down, collapsing and formed into what looked to be iron sights. The sharp edge of the blade retracted just in front of the revolver that sat just beneath the iron sights as the tip split in half down the middle, revealing the barrel of the hand cannon. The trigger guard unfolded, and as the click that indicated that the folding mechanism was locked, the trigger itself popped right out.

'Oooh, it's also a gun,' Ruby thought to herself, pleased with the design of the weapon. Keeping her finger on the outside of the trigger guard, Ruby made a stabbing motion along with various pew pew sounds accompanied with explosions as she mocked the motions of using the gun-blade in battle.

Jaune gripped the grocery bags tightly, his fingers growing weak while he transferred a large load of plastic bags from one hand to the other in order for him to fish his keys out of his pocket. Hearing the childish sounds that Ruby made, he smiled while inserting the key into the deadlock, feeling proud of his game collection, 'Wow, she must not have played any video games in the last eight years.'

Turning the doorknob, Jaune opened the door in time to witness Ruby attempt to duck and roll, only to hit the back of her head against the coffee table. Surprised by his return, Ruby's finger slipped from the trigger guard and mashed down the trigger, firing a blank, which sent her flying against the brick wall next to the door. Looking to her right, to find Jaune's boots, Ruby lifted her gaze upwards to meet his disapproving stare. Disoriented, Ruby sheepishly smiled. The only words she managed to get out were, "This isn't what it looks like. Okay maybe it does, but I can explain."


	4. Yang

**Author's Note: Jesus fuck, I get it, consistency issues this, consistency issues that. I don't write sober, actually, I'm constantly not sober and I probably thought I had a different chapter between the last chapter and the next. I honestly don't know anymore, but I hope this fixes the jarring personality change.**

* * *

Jaune stumbled out the door and carefully made his way down the apartment complex's steps that seemed to be moving back and forth. Upon reaching the last step, he ducked into the alley next to his building, making sure he was out of sight before unzipping his pants. After pulling out his pride, he let loose a stream of yellow rapids onto a pile of garbage-filled bags while whistling the tune of 'row row row your boat.'

"Heh, mine's bigger," Jaune heard from the end of the alley as the last bits of urine dripped from his junk. His eyes shot to the end of the alley he entered from to find no one. Looking to the other end, he saw three figures all with the same familiar long flowing blond hair. After blinking several times while putting away his junk, he squinted to focus his vision, and the three figures seemed to morph into one.

"Aren't you that hooker from last week?" Jaune asked, still trying to piece together who this mystery woman could be, "Wait, no, last week was a brunette. Aurora? No, that's not it. Yasmin? No, that's not it either, I know it started with a 'Y'."

"It's Yang, you dork," the woman said as she walked towards the tipsy huntsman, her hips swaying with every step.

"Yang, I know I've heard that name before. Do I owe you child support, do I have a baby that I don't know about?" Jaune smirked as he rubbed his chin.

"No, you dipshit, we went to Beacon together." Yang's eyes began to glow red from irritation, "I'm Ruby's sister, our team lived right across the hall from your team. Ring any bells?"

"Oh, Yang," Jaune snapped his finger, "If you're not looking for child support from me, who's the lucky, or should I say 'unlucky,' guy. Please tell me it's Sage. If it is, someone owes me 500 lien."

"What? No, I'm not looking for my baby daddy, I don't even have a kid!" Yang raised her voice as she refrained from socking Jaune in the gut.

"Looking to make one?" Jaune lowered his head to meet her eye level, the smell of alcohol on his breath reaching Yang's face. He shamelessly smiled as he jokingly raised his eyebrows twice before receiving a punch straight to his nose.

"Oh god, I just threw up a little in my mouth," Yang gripped her right forearm as Jaune flew a few feet back, holding her shaking fist back from beating him senseless.

"Okay, I deserved that," Jaune said, lifting his arm to point upwards before picking himself up, "Thank the stars that aura is a thing, because I'm pretty sure that would have broken my nose."

"Are you drunk?" Yang demanded as she contemplated kicking Jaune.

"Only enough to make the screams in my head stop," Jaune casually let slip as he sat up, "Anyway, what are you doing in this alley if you're not looking for customers?"

"Oh my god, please tell me you're not Uncle Qrow's new drinking buddy he's been telling me and dad about," Yang's hand went up to cover her eyes as she shook her head, "Wait, what are _you_ doing here? Please tell me you're not homeless too."

"Birb man? Nah, I haven't seen him since Vacuo," Jaune answered as he rubbed his nose, attempting to massage the pain away, "Hold up, you said 'too.' Huh, well I'll be damned, Ruby wasn't lying."

"Oh shit, Ruby," Yang's anger quickly faded as she scrambled for her scroll, "I need to tell her I found you."

"Don't bother, I ran into her about half an hour ago," Jaune waved his hand in dismissal.

"Oh, well, that saves me a bit of trouble," Yang said, shoving her scroll back into her pocket. Looking up from her hip, she returned her attention back to Jaune, "I'm not going to ask where you've been all this time, but I need to ask, why?"

"Why what?" Jaune asked after getting up and leaning against a wall, dusting himself off in the process.

"Why'd you disappear on us like that?" Yang continued to press for answers, "When Ruby thought you were dead, she spent a week looking for you."

"That's old news," Jaune waved in dismissal once again, "the question should be why weren't you guys there when _I_ needed you? Was it so I could be the distraction? Look, if that's the case, I get it. Send the weakest guy to distract the enemy while you take them down when they least expected it. It's basic tactics. I just need to hear it from you."

"Holy shit! You're completely up your own ass about this," Yang gripped Jaune's arms and slammed him to the wall behind him, pinning him in place. Her prosthetic arm exerted more pressure as her anger glowed in her eyes, "Did you stop to actually think about it just once over the last few years? You were the first friend Ruby made at Beacon. For fuck's sake, to her, you were her _best_ friend. Do you know what you meant to her?"

"I- uh, I guess not," Jaune turned his head away, attempting to escape the brawler's gaze.

"The CCT was down and whatever information we got was tampered with by Salem's cronies," Yang continued, "Ruby would have starved herself to death at Vacuo looking for you if we didn't pull her away, and do you honestly believe we'd do that to you? That _Ruby_ , of all people, would sacrifice _you_? We're your friends, Jaune, and I'm sorry we couldn't make it in time. We failed you, but don't you dare think that we'd ever betray you like that."

Jaune's eyes darted back and forth between the ground and Yang's eyes as he tried to process what he just heard. Eventually his eyes were fixated the puddle of urine as he thought about the year leading up to Beacon's destruction, growing more and more ashamed over his earlier behavior towards Ruby. Growing impatient for any sort of answer, Yang slammed him against the wall once again.

"Ow, hey. Look, you guys weren't the only ones who failed that day," Jaune blurted after his head knocked against the wall, "I let Vacuo fall, and I shouldn't have blamed all of you, especially Ruby. I just couldn't face you guys after I let all of Vacuo down."

Letting go of her grip, Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Upon opening her eyes to reveal her normal lavender irises, she looked into Jaune's eyes and smiled, "None of us blame you. Besides, it's all in the past now, Salem's dead thanks to Ruby."

"Oh my god, Ruby," Jaune held his face in his hands, "I've been such a massive dick to her and she didn't even deserve any of it."

"That reminds me, where is the little squirt anywho?" Yang asked, placing her prosthetic arm on her hip.

"She's right upstairs in my apartment. I went full edge-lord on her and I just left her there," Jaune fell to a squat, his hands still covering his face in shame.

"Dude, you haven't changed one bit since Beacon," breaking out in laughter, Yang doubled over for a few seconds. After her laughing fit subsided, Yang pulled Jaune to his feet and left him with some advice before walking away, "I guess that's what Ruby loves about you. Oh, and one more thing, strawberries and cookies are still her favorite."


	5. Oh, We're Doing Nickname Throwbacks Now?

**Author's Note: Just to let you guys know, I've always read every single review I get. Let me know if you guys are enjoying the story so far, and where things could be better. I'm always looking to improve. If you honestly think my writing is shit, I'd like to know why it's shit instead of getting a "Your story is bad and you should feel bad" kinda review, those just don't help anyone.**

 **Update: For all the new readers or just people who are confused in general, this chapter was originally posted as chapter 4, but after some reviews complaining about consistency issues on Jaune's personality, I decided to fix it.**

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Ruby's mind blanked, the words failing to come out of her mouth as she stared up at the douchey sunglasses on Jaune's face. A few more awkward seconds passed as the latter continued to stare until his façade cracked, a smile creeping onto his face. Jaune let out a small chuckle as he removed his aviators which quickly evolved into howls of laughter, "Serves you right for breaking my _only_ rule."

A wave of relief came over Ruby as she joined in on Jaune's laughter, "Oh please, it's not like this hasn't happened to you before, remember when you tried playing with Crescent Rose?"

"While you're not wrong there, I'd like to remind you that it was your idea. Does 'Jaune, you need to learn how to use a gun, start with Crescent Rose' come to mind?" Jaune continued to chuckle, closing the door behind him, as he helped Ruby to her feet. He held out his hands, exchanging a portion of the groceries for his weapon back, and the pair made their way to the kitchen. Hearing Ruby's stomach grumble, Jaune unpacked the bread and placed a couple pairs of slices into the toaster, "I'll make us some sandwiches and as for snacks, I hope you still like cookies and strawberries."

"Are you kidding?" Ruby said, taking a strawberry from its packaging, "Even if they weren't my favorite, anything would taste amazing after eating those field rations for six months at a time."

"That's pretty metal," Jaune cringed as he remembered the taste of what he could only describe as nutrient bricks, "but why on Remnant would you do that to yourself?"

"Hey, they're cheap," Ruby shrugged, biting into the fruit, "and I'm not the best cook."

"Right, I wouldn't want to get near a stove either if I were you," Jaune thought out loud as he laid out ingredients, "how did you even manage to set boiling water on fire?"

"I don't know!" Ruby threw her hands up, "I'm still just as confused as you are about that."

"God, I feel sorry for your future husband," Jaune smirked.

"I'm not exactly the housewife type of girl anyways," Ruby turned away to grab a cup of water, hiding her blush, "Besides, I'm a huntress. I wouldn't mind being the breadwinner."

"From what you told me, you're not exactly the 'get a home' type of girl either," Jaune teased as he retrieved the toast from the toaster.

"That's because I was looking for you, you jerk," Ruby turned to face him, her face still red, "You didn't call, I didn't get a 'Hey, I'm alive' or anything. I thought you were my best friend, I thought you wouldn't just up and leave me like that."

Jaune hummed to himself as he assembled the sandwiches, seemingly ignoring Ruby as she ranted. After topping the piles of chicken strips, lettuce, and tomato off with a bit of mustard, he wrapped the bottom half of both sandwiches in sheets of paper towel and handed one to Ruby. Breathing heavily, she looked into his eyes defiantly, then eyed the food in front of her, her mouth starting to salivate. Ruby's stomach growled once more, to which Jaune responded before taking the first bite, "It's okay if you don't want it, I'm assuming you still have more field rations to last you until our mission?"

"Hmmph," Ruby scowled, looking into his eyes once more, a dumb toothy grin still plastered on Jaune's face. Her expression softened slightly as she lingered on the shade of blue she had missed. Catching herself, she snatched the sandwich out of his hand and quickly retreated to the couch using her semblance. Jaune watched her take a bite, letting out a tiny squeal of delight. Realizing the noise she had just made, she turned her attention from the food back to Jaune, "You're still a jerk."

"Thanks Jaune. Oh, no problem, Ruby, I only spent the last of my lien to feed both of us until the mission," Jaune mocked as he walked back to the couch to join his guest.

"Got a problem, Arc?" Ruby snapped, her mouth full of food, "Say it to my face."

"Yeah, _Rose_ , I got a problem," Jaune snapped back after taking another bite, "you're annoying."

"Jackass," Ruby childishly stuck out her tongue before taking another bite out of her sandwich.

"Dumb kid," Jaune returned the gesture.

"I am _not_ a kid anymore, I'm twenty-three," Ruby argued the remark.

"Fine, does Crater Face work for you?" Jaune sneered.

"Oh come on," Ruby punched Jaune's arm, "Fine, if we're doing nickname throwbacks, then Vomit Boy has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Oh, do I see some salt on your face?"

"I'm never going to live that nickname down, am I?" Jaune sunk into the couch in defeat as he took another bite out of his sandwich.

"If you're not gonna let me live down Crater Face, then you're not allowed to live down Vomit Boy either," Ruby said as she stuck a finger into Jaune's cheek, "besides, vomiting on Yang's shoe was probably the least embarrassing story you have from our Beacon days."

"Heh, not as embarrassing as some of yours," Jaune lightened up, "Remember when you accidentally walked into Professor Port's office at the wrong time of day?"

"And just when I thought I was finally rid of that memory," Ruby shuddered, "but that's nothing compared to when we caught you dancing like a ballerina in my team's room with Weiss' weapon."

The pair continued to laugh and reminisce about their shared past. All the pranks they pulled on each other, the food fight on the first day of their second semester, all the times they spent all night playing video games together. As the conversation went on, neither of them noticed how much time had flown by and before they knew it, the room had darkened from the setting sun.

"Hey, Jaune," Ruby began, fidgeting with the green bracelet that she had kept with her, "do you still remember what we said we were going to do together after we beat Salem?"

"I can't say that I do," Jaune said, rubbing his chin as he tried to remember the words.

"It's alright, I didn't expect you to remember. It _has_ been seven years since then," Ruby took a deep slow breath to control her heartbeat, "I'm sure you meant it as a joke back then, but you said that wanted to catch up on bad movie marathon night."

"Oh yeah, I remember bad movie marathon night," Jaune snapped his fingers as the memories of countless nights of watching poorly made movies returned to him.

"Since we have the chance now, I was hoping we could catch up on at least that," Ruby looked up from her bracelet with a smile.

"Well, now that Salem's gone, I don't see why not," Jaune smiled back before getting off the couch, "I'll make some dinner and snacks, I picked up some really bad movies over the years, they're on the shelf under the games."

"What do you wanna watch first?" Ruby asked, walking over to the TV, "Or should I ask what don't you want to watch?"

"They're all bad," Jaune said as he turned the dial on his stove, setting it halfway between medium and high, before placing the pan on the burner, "I just can't stop buying really bad movies."

Ruby opened the cabinet and looked through the collection, still individually wrapped in plastic, that filled the bottom shelf. Confused, she reached in and retrieved a handful of random DVDs, "You haven't watched any of these?"

"It just felt wrong to watch all of these by myself in one sitting," Jaune answered plopping two frozen burger patties into the pan, "I'd spot a few movies, look them up on Rotten Potatoes, then buy them if they're stupidly bad, but I just never got around to watching them."

"I'm glad I'm here to share these next few terrible hours with you," Ruby jested as she settled on a movie about homicidal cellophane.

"Any preferences on drinks?" Jaune smiled to himself as he stuck his head into the fridge.

Ruby thought to herself for a moment, a devious grin forming, "Oh, what the hell. Let's play a drinking game tonight."


	6. I got lit af

**Author's note: Not the real chapter, I got lazy around 100 or so words. I'll write the real chapter when I'm sober.**

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A bullet whizzed past Jaune's ear, clipping the edge of his aura's range. He looked to his right to see Ruby laughing hysterically as she ran alongside him, her face bright red from all the alcohol she had drank. He watched her unclip Crescent Rose and haphazardly fire two shots behind her before she turned to him and screamed at the top of her lungs, "See, isn't this great? I told you it'd be fun."

"This is the last time I'm letting you drag me into one of your pranks," Jaune panted as he struggled to keep up.

"I told you, it's not about whether it's right or wrong, it's about getting sweet, sweet revenge," Ruby rebutted as the pair ran from burning nightclub.

"Ruby you're drunk, go home," Jaune paused before turning around to fire a few rubber bullets at the crowd of henchmen that pursued them. After seeing several henchmen crumple to their knees in non-lethal agony, he turned back and continued running.

"That's the spirit!" Ruby cheered, slowing down to allow Jaune to catch up.

"When you suggested going to a nightclub, I pictured dancing, being each other's wingmen and drinking until we wake up with someone else, not committing arson!" Jaune yelled over the gunshots, "Are you insane?"

"Oh, I'm insane?" Ruby grabbed Jaune's arm, pulling them to a skidding halt, "That's rich coming from the guy who held a grudge against his own friends for six years."

"Can we not do this now?" Jaune turned his head to see the mob of generic bouncers getting closer, "We're in the middle of the setup to this chapter."

"The writer can fuck off, I'm getting this out now," Ruby hiccupped before raising Crescent Rose and unleashing a volley of rounds into the approaching crowd, "what kinda self-centered sociopath blames his own best friend for something she can't control?"

"Ruby, your grammar's kinda confusing to the readers," Jaune reminded as he attempted to pull away from Ruby's vice-like grip.

"Fuck the readers, can't you see I'm trying to speed up character development, so we can actually get to adventure?" Ruby released her grip on Jaune's arm in order to flip him off as she continued to fire.

"These things take time, exposition, finesse," Jaune held up his hands as he counted the list with his fingers.

"Fuck that, I'm too drunk and the writer's too high," Ruby shouted, pausing in between shots fired.

Jaune's hand went to his face and then to his hand cannon, short sword, dagger thing to join in on the carnage, "You know what? Fine, I'll play along with the writer. I'm sorry for being a dick, I'm actually really happy to see you and I actually can't wait to go on this mission to bond with you."

"Was that so hard?" Ruby sarcastically asked as the last of the henchmen dropped.

"Let's just end this dumb chapter before I have an aneurism," Jaune replied, pulling a half empty bottle out of his hammer space pocket.


End file.
